A Night of Indiscretion
by Penelope Jadewing
Summary: That was all it took. One night. One night of letting their guards down, stepping out, doing something crazy and stupid... And that was all it took to bring it all of reality crashing down on them. Oneshot. T for alluded adult themes.


**A/N: This is continuing my OC arc of Elliot/Nerys, a sequel to ****_Loaded Shotgun _(2nd oneshot in which Elliot smuggles Nerys into a banquet) and _Anyway_ (3rd oneshot in which Nerys goes missing and her family is found murdered by her own father), ****which you can find on my profile. WARNING: this oneshot alludes to premarital intercourse and the consequences thereof.**

**~Penelope**

* * *

_"You're going where?"_

_Leo paused in putting on his coat. "Reveille. Remember? I told you yesterday that Mercy invited me along with her and her brother and some of their friends; you even said it was all right if I went by myself."_

_Blinking slowly, Elliot tried to recall that conversation, and came up empty. "Hm. I forgot. What are you doing there?"_

_"She said something about an exposition on youth fiction at the Library and Archives, dinner, and then going to the theatre to see the reenactment of St. Bridget. I should be back late. Will that be a problem?" Leo finished shrugging on his jacket, and buttoned it securely before he wrapped a scarf around his neck._

_Elliot shook his head. "No."_

_"Right, you'll be with Nerys, won't you?"_

_Elliot nodded. He really wanted to make this St. Bridgit's Day special for her, especially after... after her mother's and brother's murders. He wanted to be able to take her mind off of the sorrow, off the loneliness. Because he knew how much it hurt, especially knowing that the murderer was still out there, walking free._

_Leo then made a strange face, wrinkling his nose and frowning as he put his earmuffs on. "Be careful with that wine, Elliot. And I really wish you'd do something with a group, like we're doing."_

_"I'm not an idiot," the scion said with a scowl, leaning back in his desk chair and folding his arms. "And I wasn't invited. What are you worried about?"_

_Leo sighed. "I don't know… Something is off; I can't say what. I just don't think going off alone is a good idea."_

_"Relax, Leo. We'll be fine. I'll take my sword and a pistol, if you want, just in case."_

_The noire's brow furrowed, and he shook his head. He opened his mouth to say something, but then shut it again. "Keep a sound mind."_

_"Seriously, Leo!?" Elliot fumed. "It's not like I'm gonna go get drunk, or anything!"_

* * *

Elliot was on his fourth glass of wine, and beginning to wonder if he should stop. A buzzing had begun to gnaw at the back of his skull, and he found himself laughing more than usual, but it felt good. Just him and Nerys, under the stars, fine wine and a scrumptious picnic, just the two of them. Talking a lot about nothing and laughing about everything. He loved how warm her hand felt in his.

"When I was little," Nerys said after she recovered from her giggling fit, flopping back against the blanket they had spread out in the small grove amongst the trees, "my father would take me out at night, and make up stories about the shapes in the stars."

Propping himself on his elbow beside her, he watched her face, so serene as she spoke. "Can you remember them?"

"Not a lot…" She scrunched up her nose, eyes darting over the night sky before she lifted a finger to point. "There was Henry the Small. Father told a lot of stories about him."

"Who was he?"

"A knight. A small knight. Everybody made fun of him and nobody ever took him seriously because of how freakishly small he was. All the bigger knights, because they were faster, got to the pretty damsels in distress and slayed the dragons first, and so Henry never got his chance to show the world what he could do." She cast him a fond smile. "I used to pretend I was locked in a tower when I was put on restriction, and I would turn away all the tall, handsome knights with big shoulders and shining armor, waiting for little Henry to show up." Her smile faltered, and she stuck out her lower lip in a pout. "He never did."

Elliot snickered at the expression on her face, which in turn, made her laugh as well. Then he sat up and laid a noble fist over his heart, and spoke with dramatic falsetto. "My dear fair lady, I do apologize for my tardiness! My horse broke down on the way here, and I was forced to traverse blistering winds and scorching deserts on foot just to reach this monstrous tower! My feet were so worn, they fell off, and I crawled across the rickety bridge over boiling lava! Then I slew the dragon with my devilish charm and a wink, and the fat beast fell dead right upon me! But I am here, at longest last!"

By now, Nerys had fallen into another fit of giggles, clutching at her middle as she gasped for air. Then she flopped back again, catching her breath before she put on a proper face, complete with pursed lips, an action that Elliot found himself extremely distracted by.

"My good knight, I hath awaited your arrival these long, long years." She started to giggle again, and swallowed it down. "Thou hast been my very heart these past months, as I tarried in this stone prison, longing to be free. My knight, my dear Henry, set me free!" She clutched her hands to her chest with a dramatic expression of pain. Then she seemed to think better of it, and laid the back of her left hand against her forehead, in the ever classic 'damsel's faint'. Which set Elliot to cracking up.

But how lovely she looked! One dainty hand against her forehead, the other splayed over her bosom, her delicate chin tilted up toward the starry sky, moonlight splashing over her ivory skin. The dark blue of her strapless evening gown contrasted brilliantly with her pale complexion, showed off her womanly figure, and the long tulle trumpet sleeves and leather laces on either side added an elegance straight from a fantasy novel. She had pinned her hair up in a braided bun, completing the picture of elvin beauty as well as displaying her attractive neck.

How did he get so lucky?

She stared at him with a strange look on her face, and Elliot had a feeling it was because he bore a similar expression of drugged ecstasy. He lowered himself down from his elbow to press close to her side. He let his mouth hover close to her ear, and feathered his fingers over her exposed collarbone. With a grin playing at his lips, he whispered in her ear, as if they were surrounded by people and he wanted only her to hear.

_"I love you._"

He could feel her shiver, and something in his chest ignited, like the lighting of a match. Nerys slowly turned her head, so that their lips were a hair's breadth apart. Her warm, sweet breath splashed over his face. Her lashes drooped.

_"I love you, too."_

The flame exploded into a wild blaze, sending warmth from his chest to his fingertips. He let his fingers dance over her skin for a little while longer before he trailed them down her chest, and laid his hand on her stomach. Then, he slid it lower still. When she rested her hand on his, he hesitated. With a sultry look in her eyes, she ran her hand up his arm, slowly, teasingly, until she began to play with his collar. He smiled, and continued to let his hand wander, pressing closer against her. He trailed his fingers from her hip, up her side, along the leather laces.

Hmm… No, those laces just wouldn't do.

Neither would this hard ground. He pressed a kiss to her lips, and pushed himself to his feet, wobbling dangerously before catching his bearings, and offering her a hand up. The house would be much warmer. Meaning, in his room. With the door locked. And a fire going, with all the other lights out.

Yes, then he would take care of those laces.

* * *

_He had never had such a headache before. Neither had he ever seen, or yet wanted to see, Nerys… like that. In his arms. In his _bed_. Their clothes lay in a heap at the foot of the bed._

_He had also never seen Leo so angry. So… ashamed. He had never felt so ashamed! It wasn't the 'oh crud, I'm blushing' kind of ashamed, either. The shame twisted so tightly in his stomach that he felt sick._

_How arrogant was he? How many times had he blundered into something believing something about himself to be true, only to find out completely the opposite?_

_He was not as infallible as he liked to pretend. On the contrary, he made more stupid mistakes than most. And this one was just the icing on the cake. This was huge. It wasn't a blunder, it was an epic fail. Of all the timing, too! He'd… stolen something from Nerys. Something valuable, priceless. While at the same time, he gave away something of his own._

_And there was no getting it back._

_D***._

* * *

"What the **** were you thinking, Elliot!?" Leo exploded the minute he shut the door, leaving the two boys alone in Elliot's study. Elliot sat behind his desk, yet felt completely exposed, leaning on his elbows on the mahogany surface. He stared at the woodgrains, taking the moment to remind himself just how much of an idiot he was.

Leo never swore.

"What on _earth_ were you thinking!?" Leo sounded more desperately disappointed rather than angry, though he seemed to be teetering between that emotion, and outright fury. "Where you even thinking at all!? Why am I asking!? No! Because you never do! Ugh, why can't you just _think_ before you do things!?"

"It was a mistake," Elliot droned, still not looking at Leo. Shame still pulsed in his chest along with his heartbeat. He had let Leo down big time… Not to mention Nerys; what he had intended as a night to take her cares away had only added to them.

"You're darn right it was a mistake!" Leo fumed, gesturing wildly with his hands. "Imagine my surprise, coming home after a nice, enjoyable evening in the city, expecting the whole house to be asleep by then, coming to check on you like I'm supposed to and finding-" He cut himself off, and cast a glance over his shoulder at the closed door. Then he marched up to the desk, and leaned his palms flat on its surface. Elliot finally dared to look up at him, and flinched at the intensity of his friend's gaze.

"Finding my _unmarried_ master and his chambermaid in the bed with the lights out, both completely unclothed and sporting spectacular hangovers!" Leo hissed. He pushed himself off the desk and strode over to one of the windows, arms folded.

Elliot sighed, berating himself again and again. _Idiot, idiot, idiot!_ He wanted to just go bang his head into a wall somewhere. He slid his elbows forward on the desk and thumped his forehead against the wood surface, just lying there.

After a while, he finally spoke. "I'm an idiot."

"Agreed," Leo said without hesitation.

"And a jerk."

"Two for two."

"And I'm sorry."

It was Leo's turn to sigh, and he took his sweet time in replying. When he did, his voice had lost most of its previous vigor. "What did I tell you, Elliot?"

Elliot's brow furrowed in a scowl, but he didn't lift his head. "Now's not really a good time for 'I told you so's, Leo…"

"What if she's pregnant?"

A dagger of ice stabbed him in the chest, and a shudder wracked his spine.

He really was an idiot.

"Hm? Did that thought ever cross your mind?" Leo came back over to plant himself on the other side of the desk.

Elliot raised his head and rested his chin on his arms, glaring at his valet. "I really wish it hadn't."

Leo didn't look impressed. "You're going to have to start thinking of these things now. The scandals, the rumors, the bad rep, the pregnancy – all nine months of it! – the birth, raising the kid-"

"All right, all right, I get it!" He raked his fingers through his hair. "This is the stupidest thing I've done in years."

"I daresay it's the stupidest thing you've done, period."

"I know." Elliot let his face fall and bury against his arms again, just wanting to sink through the floorboards and hide in the walls for a while. "Don't agree with me right now, Leo… Just… tell me what to do."

The raw, childish anxiety in his own voice surprised even himself. He clenched his jaw, hating feeling so vulnerable. So stupid. So… _Idiot._

The tension had died a little, and Leo's voice had come closer to the desk by the time he spoke again. "Well, since you completely bypassed step two of all this, I'd say you have to backtrack."

That got Elliot to raise his head, frowning. "Steps?"

Leo nodded. "Steps. You know, step one is fall in love and be sure it's the right person. Step two is… well, marriage."

Elliot's eyebrows shot halfway up his forehead. "…Aren't we a little… young?"

"You sure didn't think you were too young to have-"

"All right, okay, point taken. But still, I can't just… Okay, think about it." Elliot gave Leo a pointed look. "'Hi, Dad! Just wanted to let you know, I'm getting married to my chambermaid who may or may not be carrying your grandchild. Gotta go to school! See you!' Yeah, that's not going to work."

"What about promise rings?"

At this, he perked up. "What are those, now?"

"Don't you know?"

"Enlighten me."

* * *

**A/N: I really hope neither Elliot nor Leo were out of character, but I did think they'd be just a little different, considering the situation. This takes place just before the Unbirthday chapter, sort of behind the scenes in my AU PH timeline. Stuff the main plot wouldn't have shown us.**

**I also know some people may think that the consequences Leo raises to awareness and the shame Elliot feels takes away from the 'romance' of it, but that was intentional. This is not a touchy-feely cute-secret-lovers-in-bed-make-me-blush fic. This oneshot was meant to focus on the consequences of certain actions, particularly in a Victorian-esque society. To be caught in a scandal, especially the one here, was as bad as a death sentence to a noble. Their respect and reputation would be squandered, ruined, and rumors would spread like wildfire, taking away what little was left. Plus, being so young, it makes it even worse.**

**So. Long explanation. :P But I hope you liked. Review?**


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